Fingertips: A Big Bowl of Random
by Kokomojeezus
Summary: A collection of oneshots based off of "Fingertips" by They Might Be Giants. Mostly funny, sometimes serious, always awesome. NUMBER 3, I Hear the Wind Blow: Katara finds out that Aang isn't just the last airbender... he's also the first musicbender!
1. Everything is Catching on Fire

_Hello there. Thanks for reading my story. I realized that I posted it first, without putting in my comments…guess I was just eager to get it out there :P_

_This is actually my first fanfic… so please let me know what you think of it, alright? ^_^_

_Big thanks to zutarakid50, for putting up with my paranoia about this, and helping me fix it up too. Read her stuff, it generates good karma (and lulz).

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Four figures slowly approached the looming, tiered mansion. Although the four were powerful individuals, and in a well-to-do neighborhood, they crept down the darkened street with a nervous, almost frightened air. It was like watching four duck-geese walk into a slaughterhouse.

The pagoda-like structure worked with the setting sun to cast a shadow on their path, one of the figures noted. He wore a majestic set of imperial robes, complete with wide shoulder pads and gold trim that accentuated his already powerful presence. However, instead of being a traditional Fire Nation red, his robes were jet black, with two embroidered dragons rising up from the hem, one red, and one blue, to represent his travels with the Avatar and the wisdom he gained from them. Most telling of his experiences, however, was the large red burn scar over his left eye.

The figure to his left agreed, citing a bad omen. She also wore imperial garb, and though her colors were more traditional, her dress was striking because of its beauty. It was loose fitting with large sleeves (a must) yet elegant. The different shades of red worked together to make her appear as if she were truly a fire lady, and not _the_ Fire Lady. Zuko had recommended this dress to her because it livened up her otherwise gaunt appearance. While that comment had earned him a night locked out of the royal suite, his point was ultimately taken. _Besides_, she thought, _it goes pretty well with my usual hair buns._

The other two, more simply dressed, were more positive about the situation. There was a young man, dressed in a pair of baggy canvas pants held up by a loose rope belt. Over this, he wore the traditional Air Monk robes, but the robes had been altered so he could open them to better feel the air on his skin. The opened robes revealed his bare chest and the medallion that rested there. The large blue arrow running over his shaved head confirmed his mastery over his element. "I don't think it's anything so serious, Mai," he said, turning to the Fire Lady.

The girlish woman cartwheeling in front of the group spoke up. "Aang's right, you know," she sang cheerily. "In fact, I think it makes the house look beautiful." She sprung into a flip at the end of a cartwheel and landed on her feet, facing the other three with her arms outstretched in a "ta-da" pose. She quickly withdrew them, though, when the chilly autumn air found the skin left exposed by her red and pink outfit. The woman, hugging herself and shivering a bit, turned to the house with an expectant look. "The sunset makes the house look like a big, warm, bonfire," she murmured happily, feeling warmer at the thought and smiling.

Aang, Zuko, and Mai exchanged nervous glances. "Way to go. You jinxed it, Ty Lee," Mai muttered with a roll of her eyes. Ty Lee, realizing her mistake, appeared flustered for a moment. She eventually resurfaced from her confusion with a slight frown.

"Oh, come on you guys," she whined, "you're not giving her enough credit. She wouldn't do that to her own house." While she tried to appear sure of what she said, a twinge in her voice gave away her own doubts. Knowing that she was not at all convincing, Ty Lee deepened her frown and stared at her shoes.

This reaction from the perpetually optimistic Ty Lee did nothing to reassure the others. In fact, with the eerily empty street and dark colors of the nearby houses, Ty Lee's melancholy thickened the tension. Aang, sensing it, decided to say something. "Look, it doesn't help to scare ourselves to death like this," said Aang, slightly exasperated. "Whatever will happen will happen. Let's go into this with an open mind and hope for the best."

"Spoken like a true Air Monk," Mai sniped, causing Zuko to place a sobering hand on her shoulder.

"He's right," Zuko conceded with a sigh, "Let's just get it over with." By this time, they had already reached the heavy wooden doors of the ominous house.

After a moment of bickering, Mai shoved Zuko towards the doors. "Fine then, you want to get it over with?" she asked with angry sarcasm. "You open the doors."

While he was reluctant to do it, Zuko eventually suppressed his fear of decapitation by fire blast, and approached the brass knockers. With a steadying breath, he dutifully grabbed the handles and gave three firm knocks. After a minute of tense silence, the door creaked open to reveal a woman with shimmering, raven black hair. Her look of mild annoyance immediately jumped to one of surprise, before melting into a tilted grin. She placed a hand on her hip, leaning against the door slightly and laughing softly. "Hello, Zuzu," she said.

"Hello, Azula," Zuko replied calmly.

"It's, uh, it's really nice of you to…ah," Aang stuttered, "to let us visit on—on such short notice, Azula."

"Oh, it's really no problem at all," Azula said in an enigmatic voice. It was too genuine to be sarcastic, yet too sardonic to be sincere. Her appearance was unusual as well. While she appeared to be alone, save for a few servants, Azula was immaculately dressed. Her hair was in a tight, pristine bun on the back of her head, and she wore a snow-white kimono with red flowers patterned on it. While for a normal princess, this would have been normal attire, Azula would never wear anything so frilly if she could help it.

"Whoa," Ty Lee whispered to Mai as Aang and Azula continued their conversation. "Azula looks really nice today."

"I can tell," Mai quipped while stealing glances over her shoulder at Azula. "Wonder what she's all dressed up for."

Before Ty Lee could speculate, Aang turned to the group with a smile. "Hey, good news everybody," Aang said, his confidence seemingly restored. "Azula said she'd show us around the house if we wanted."

Mai began to make a frank objection when Zuko interrupted. "I think that's a great idea," he said with as much sincerity as he could muster.

"Okay then," Azula said, turning away from the group. "If you all will come this way, we can start…"

As Azula walked down the red carpeted hallway, Mai elbowed Zuko sharply. "Why the hell did you do that?" Mai hissed angrily.

"I'm trying to be polite," Zuko retorted, rubbing his side.

"Yeah, funny how you're never polite when we visit anywhere I want to go."

"That's totally different, and you're totally over-reacting! This is my sister!"

"Hmph," Mai grumbled. "Don't think I'll let you get away with this. You know our 'Friday Night Fun Time'?"

"Mai, please, this isn't—"

"Gone. For a month."

Aang and Ty Lee giggled at the hushed argument, causing Azula to turn back. "What's the matter?" she asked in a motherly tone full of sarcasm. "Did poor Zuzu make a fool of himself?" Aang and Ty Lee began laughing louder, and even Mai grinned. Zuko groaned. He knew it was going to be a long night.

The tour, as awkward as it was, became even more bizarre by Azula's behavior. She was in a fancy, _feminine_ dress, and she wasn't being forced to wear it. She welcomed everyone into her home with minimal reluctance, and her guests noticed that she seemed a lot happier than expected. While she certainly wasn't as bubbly as Ty Lee, and she was still a little abrasive, her new willingness to socialize, joke, and be polite eventually caused the visitors to become nervous.

Ty Lee was the first to mention the difference. In the midst of the tour, she gave a puzzling hum as she scratched her head with one finger.

"What is it, Ty Lee?" Azula asked with an air of concern. "I didn't think that my furniture would be so interesting."

"Oh," Ty Lee gasped slightly, "it's not that… I don't mean to say your furniture isn't interesting, it's quite—"

"Get to the point, please," Azula sighed, annoyed.

"Well," Ty Lee ventured carefully, "I just noticed that your aura looks so much…different."

Azula stopped walking for a moment. "I guess I should take that as a compliment," Azula said with a roll of her eyes.

"N-no," Ty Lee quickly stammered, not wanting to offend. "It's not a bad different. It's totally a good different. Your aura is more like mine now," she ended with a hopeful smile.

Azula's expression became one of mild annoyance. "Like yours, Ty Lee?" she said firmly, causing Ty Lee to flinch inwardly. "One step closer to perfection…"

"No, I didn't mean it like that," Ty Lee cried, beside herself. She began fiddling uneasily with the edge of her outfit.

Suddenly, Azula began to giggle. "Oh, relax, Ty Lee. I'm only joking. You're so easy to frighten," she smiled jauntily. After the nervous laughter of her guests died down, Azula continued, "I thought you would be more used to this, with Toph hanging around."

"Actually," Aang started, "It's been a while since Ty Lee has seen Toph. She's been on Kyoshi Island most of the time."

"Ah, that's right," Azula said, "I remember now."

Ty Lee, having gotten over her anxiety, began bobbing her head like an ostrich-horse with something stuck in its throat. Sensing that Ty Lee was about to do something regrettable, Zuko gave Ty Lee his best you-better-not-say-something-stupid look. Ty Lee ignored it.

"Aang's right," she chirped obliviously, "I'd love to hang out with him and his friends more often, but I've been having so much fun on Kyoshi that I haven't had the time to visit them. In fact, the last time I saw Toph was the last time we came to visit you—"

At this Zuko gave a small growl and slapped his hand to his forehead. Ty Lee realized her faux pas the minute the words left her mouth. She squeaked a small "oops", and turned to mouth the words "sorry guys" to Aang and Mai. While Aang was doing his best to keep his composure, Mai was glaring daggers at a hapless Ty Lee. The room fell dead silent.

Azula felt the corners of her lips take a slight downturn. She was a little disappointed that they didn't trust her, and now, watching the silent panic in front of her, she knew exactly why. She sighed dramatically, leaning against a nearby table, and wondered if she was trying too hard to be a good hostess. Finally, when the silence became almost unbearable, Azula spoke.

"Look," she huffed, more than a little peeved, "if you're expecting me to spin around and hurl a fireball at you when you're not looking, you don't have to worry. Just loosen up! I'm trying to make you comfortable."

Ty Lee and Aang, being the more considerate members of the group, made hasty apologies, guilty looks on their faces. Mai, however, was incredulous. "What?!" she exploded, finally letting the Azula's strange behavior get to her. "Since when did you care about anyone's comfort, of all things?"

Zuko tried to calm her, wrapping his arm around her waist. "Mai, please…" he pleaded, "You have to—"

Mai interrupted him mid-sentence. She was very clearly having none of it. "Zuko, no!" she shouted, shoving him. "I know you're trying to play the diplomat and all, but really! Don't you think Azula's acting unusual?"

Ty Lee, always giving everyone the benefit of the doubt, spoke up. "It's true," she started, "this is unusual for Azula… but I don't see what's wrong with it. She's only trying to be friendlier, that's all."

"No, that's not all," Mai insisted.

"So, what is it?" Azula said with a surprised laugh. "You think because I welcome you that I have some ulterior motives?"

"Yes!" Mai snapped back, arms crossed angrily.

"That's ridiculous!" Azula sputtered with offense. "I'm doing my best, how dare you—"

"Look," Zuko sighed behind his palm, "It doesn't help to—"

"Zuko!" Mai exclaimed, turning abruptly to her husband. "How can you deny it? She's definitely acting bizarre!"

Azula was not fazed. "You're one to talk, Mai," she said with a slightly detached air.

Mai clenched her teeth, her ire growing with every word. "And what is that supposed to mean?" she growled.

"Oh, I don't know," Azula continued casually, "It's just that… aren't you being more than an emotionless shell of a girl today?"

Azula's veiled insult at first seemed to irritate Mai even further, but after a second of fuming, Mai's fire suddenly burned out. "W-well, I, uh," she stammered. Her anger had gone, leaving only a frustrated blush.

"In fact," Azula noted, her confidence growing, "All of you are acting strangely today. Ty Lee is letting me depress her, Mai is some puddle of emotions, and Zuzu is trying to be the voice of reason! What's next? Will Aang start cutting his wrists?"

"Hey," Zuko began indignantly, "I don't—"

"Azula, please stop it," Aang interrupted. "You're being unfair here. You were very kind in allowing us to come into your home on such short notice. But Mai is right, you are acting a little different than you normally would."

"And that doesn't give you the right to make fun of us just because you're still sore about the last time we came to visit you," Ty Lee added, pouting.

Azula furrowed her brow a little, as if she were about to lash out, but then she relaxed her face and exhaled. "I've gotten over that," she said soberly, "though I wish you wouldn't belittle it by saying I'm 'sore' about it."

Ty Lee gave an innocent shrug. "I didn't think it was that bad," she said timidly, fiddling with her hands. "We were only trying to help."

"Help?" Azula cried out, half laughing and half disbelieving. "Your help was an insult!"

"What do you—" Aang started.

"Don't give me that!" Azula shouted, finally losing her composure. "You brought me Long Feng! You tried to brainwash me into being some docile cow!"

"He stopped the brainwashing years ago, Azula," Aang said in a firm yet calm voice. "He's moved on to become one of the best psychiatrists in the Earth Kingdom, you know that."

"I know that's what he told you," Azula seethed, "But you don't know him. He's a devious old snake, and I wouldn't be surprised for a second if he still used his 'Dai Li re-education techniques'."

Zuko attempted to get into the argument again. "We had a reason for picking Long Feng," he started, "You were—"

"I was what? Volatile? Crazy? Bat-shit insane?!" Azula shouted, her voice cracking on the last syllable as her anger reached its peak. She began to realize just how angry she was, and the effect it was having on her guests.

_No,_ Azula thought to herself, taking deep, shaky breaths. _This is what they expected me to do. I have to calm down._ And with that, she dissipated her anger and accepted the hurt she was so accustomed to hiding.

"I knew that during the war, you didn't like me, and I sure as hell didn't like you," said Azula with a new stability. "I admit, the day of the Comet wasn't one of my finer moments. But after the war, I recovered. I may not have been friendly or the one you would invite over for tea, but at least I had given up my old, violent ways. Just so you all would accept me."

"Azula…" Zuko attempted, but Azula rolled along.

"But then, two months ago, everyone shows up at my doorstep, with this Long Feng, trying to 'help' me," she continued, pointing an accusatory finger. "That was the last straw. After you hadn't seen me for a year, you show up at my home, thinking I needed to be 'helped,' as if I were sick!" While Azula was still clearly angry, this time she had control, and didn't explode.

"Listen," Zuko intervened once again, "that—"

"Please don't make excuses, Zuko," Azula sighed tiredly. "You know that it's true." Surveying the group with her analytical eye, Azula continued. "Judging from your clothing, you and Mai were probably at some party commemorating the anniversary of the end of the war. The topic of war reminded you of me, and you felt guilty, so you and Mai made a last minute decision to come visit me."

"If that's true," Mai brazened, "then why are Ty Lee and Aang in normal clothes?"

"They were probably at the party too," Azula explained. "They're Aang and Ty Lee; they've never been much for ceremony, which is why they're in those clothes. As for why, they were probably the only people good-natured enough to come visit after how I reacted the last time."

There was a silence that more than confirmed Azula's suspicions. Mai glanced at Azula awkwardly before returning her gaze to the floor.

After a minute, Zuko broke the silence. "Azula," Zuko sighed, "I…"

"Look," Azula interrupted, "I'm trying to—"

"Ugh, will everybody STOP CUTTING ME OFF?" Zuko roared in frustration, a small plume of fire breath erupting from his mouth. Azula was startled into silence, not expecting such an explosion in the now somber hallway.

When Zuko had everyone's attention, he continued. "My turn to be psychic," he said with a slight grin. "I think what Azula was trying to say is, 'I'm trying to turn over a new leaf.'"

This time, silence proved Zuko to be right. "But...Azula? Turn over a new leaf?" Mai asked skeptically. "That's like Aang becoming a steak connoisseur."

Aang stuck out his tongue in disgust at the analogy. "Gross," he shuddered.

"It sounds weird," Zuko said, ignoring the side comments, "but it's the truth. Haven't you noticed? Azula welcoming us in, giving us a tour of her home, trying to joke with us… the old Azula would never do these things."

"I'm right here, you know," Azula said.

"If she's so different," Mai asked, "why did she make fun of us like that?"

"Oh, grow up," Azula snorted. "I'm not trying to be a different person, just a nicer one."

Before Mai could be contrary again, Aang agreed, "Zuko has a point. Even when we set her off like that, she did her best to calm down and speak rationally. She even admitted her problem to us."

"That's true," Ty Lee marveled. "Azula used to be way too guarded to do that."

"Right," Zuko reasoned, "and it was because she was so guarded that I brought Long Feng." He then turned to Azula, hands raised in a peaceful gesture. "I never thought that you would be so opposed to it, but since you never opened up to anyone, I thought that was the only way we could help you. Honestly, I never thought anything was wrong with you, and now that I look back on it, Long Feng wasn't the best choice, considering your history with him. I'm sorry, and I hope you can understand me." And with this, Zuko made a small bow.

Azula held a pensive look on her face as the room fell into silence once again. Zuko kept his head bowed the whole time, and the others exchanged nervous glances. Finally, Azula gave a large sigh, and then smiled. "I guess I can forgive you," she said, imitating Mai's deadpan demeanor. "It was a really lame excuse though. I still hate you." Everyone snickered except Mai.

"I do not sound like that!" she complained. "My voice isn't even that gravelly!"

"Well, actually…" Zuko started. He stopped however, when he saw Mai leering at him. He did not want another elbow in his side. "Actually, uh…what I don't understand is… why you want to change, Azula."

"Nice save," Aang stage-whispered to him.

"No reason," Azula replied coolly, "I just said, 'The world is becoming a better place, maybe I should become a better person.'"

"…You've lost your touch, Azula," Zuko said. "I don't even need Toph for that one."

"Yeah," Ty Lee laughed, "I know you wouldn't change unless someone or something forced you to."

At the word "someone," Azula did something most people never thought her capable of doing. It was subtle and short, so much so that only Ty Lee, who was looking directly at her, noticed.

Azula blushed.

"Ohhhh," Ty Lee hummed, face alight with a grin, "I get it."

Azula suddenly realized that Ty Lee had seen her. "What?" she said, all too hastily. "What do you get?"

"I get why you're acting so different. I should have guessed!"

"I already told you, I changed on my own."

Ignoring Azula, Ty Lee pressed on. "It would explain why your aura was so pink, and why you blushed just now!"

"Azula blushed?" Aang and Zuko said in unison, dumbfounded.

"Uh-huh," Ty Lee confirmed, nodding enthusiastically. "She looked just like Mai did when Azula told her she was less emotionless than usual."

"She did?" Mai asked. Then the realization dawned on her. "Ah, I see what Ty Lee is saying," she said, a smirk on her face.

"N-no you don't!" Azula stuttered, "You don't understand anything!"

"Wow," Zuko said as he struck a thoughtful pose. "They must be on to something if they've got Azula nervous."

"Can someone please tell me what's going on?" Aang groaned.

"I guess so," Mai said. "Ty Lee said that Azula looked the same way I did when she noticed that I was being a bit more…_passionate_… than usual."

"Uh-oh," Zuko smiled, "I think I know now."

"Well I don't," Aang grumbled with a huff. He crossed his arms sulkily.

"Sheesh," Ty Lee reproached, sighing. "You boys can be so oblivious sometimes."

"Aang's not oblivious!" Azula interjected. "He's not missing anything!" Azula knew she was losing ground, but she hoped that maybe her attempts could convince the ever-gullible Avatar.

But she was ignored yet again. "The reason Mai changed is because she had Zuko to help her," Ty Lee dutifully explained to Aang. "That's why she blushed. She loves Zuko."

"So if Azula blushed the same way," Mai said, "Then that means…"

"Nothing!" Azula interrupted, trying to keep a nonchalant appearance and failing. "You all are just being silly!"

Once more, Azula was ignored. Aang held his chin in his hand, wrinkling his lip in concentration. After a few thoughtful seconds, Aang slowly lowered his hand and burst into an extremely wide grin. "So that means…"

Azula decided to try changing her tactics from persuasion to intimidation. "I swear to Agni," she hissed in the most menacing voice possible, "if you say it, we'll see just how much of the old me is left." This threat would have been effective, if only her face weren't flaming red from embarrassment.

Ty Lee finally said the words Azula dreaded to hear. "Azula's in lo-ove!" she sang childishly.

"I AM NOT!" protested Azula in an equally childish voice. However, the deepening blush creeping across her cheeks and her smile at the word "love" was more than enough proof. She tried to turn away, to hide her embarrassment from her visitors, but the damage was already done.

"Wow, Azula," Aang said, astonished, smile growing even wider. "That's great!"

"So she really isn't inherently evil," Zuko laughed.

As the buzz of her friends' conversation continued, Azula became lost in her own thoughts, absolutely tongue-tied. Normally, her quick, militaristic thinking provided her with just the right thing to say to keep control of a conversation. Normally, with a few words, Azula would have been able to end this silly "love" gossip. And yet, she couldn't, no matter how fast her mind raced. Most infuriatingly, the one thing stopping her from controlling her burning cheeks and the excited conversation was the one thing she couldn't: her feelings for…

"So what's his name?" Ty Lee asked loudly, shaking Azula out of her introspection.

"What? What's whose name?" Azula covered sloppily.

"Oh, please," Mai sighed, rolling her eyes, "tell us your boyfriend's name."

"He's not my boyfriend!" Azula snapped instinctively. When she realized her admission, Azula said decidedly, "I'm not telling you."

"Oh, come on Azula!" Ty Lee whined, "Is it someone we know?"

Azula turned her nose upwards in response. "Not telling," she sang smugly.

"Really, Azula?" Mai asked, slightly annoyed.

"Really, Mai," Azula countered, clearly enjoying the group's frustration.

"Ugh," Zuko grunted, "there's no need for you all to be so immature."

Irked at having been called immature, Azula turned to face them. "Listen," she said, eyebrows arched. "You should just put the whole thing out of your minds. I haven't confirmed or denied anything, and as far as you need to know, I felt the need to become a better person on my own."

A servant approached Azula and murmured a few words to her. With a wave of her hand, he gave a slight bow and left. "It appears that dinner is ready," she said tersely. "Now, if we can put this foolishness behind us, I would be delighted if you'd join me."

Somehow, as soon the words left her mouth, an overwhelming sense of déjà vu washed over Azula. As it passed, she gasped, beginning to wonder at what could have caused it, when she was interrupted by Zuko.

"Oh, I'm sure we'd love to stay, but I think everyone's pretty tired from the party…right?" Zuko added with a little more force than necessary.

"What ever do you mean, darling?" Mai asked sarcastically, blatantly ignoring the hint. "I'm not tired."

"Me neither!" Ty Lee chirped.

"I am a little hungry," Aang admitted. "I think that's a good idea. We'll have dinner with you, Azula."

"Great," Azula said, pretending not to her Zuko's grumblings. "Come this way, please." And with that she pivoted on her heel and started down the hall.

Zuko started to trudge after his sister when he felt a familiar sharp pain in his back. "Ow!" he exclaimed, rubbing the spot. "Why did you do _that_, Mai?"

"You were grumbling," Mai explained simply. "And don't be so loud."

"That was uncalled for!" Zuko whispered indignantly, "if anything I should be elbowing you!"

Mai began to laugh haughtily. "Oh, please, I'd like to see you try," she cackled quietly. "And this is revenge for forcing me to come in the first place."

"Oh, it won't be so bad," Ty Lee said softly, hoping to relax the visibly angered Fire Lord. "She's been nice to us so far, we should be nice too."

"Think of it this way," Aang offered with a sly smile, "maybe we can get her to tell us who this mystery man is after a few glasses of wine."

"Aang!" Ty Lee gasped in astonishment. "I never knew you were so… bad!"

"I can't believe you, Aang," Zuko groaned. "I never thought you would slide this low."

"Oh, stop being a drama queen," Mai said playfully. "We're just curious."

In front of the gossiping guests, Azula snorted inwardly at the hushed conversation. It was rather silly of them to think that she couldn't hear them when they were about five yards behind her. She let out a chuckle when she thought about their even sillier plan. If they were planning to ferret it out of her with some wine…

Suddenly, the déjà vu returned, and it only took her a second to realize what she had done. She staggered to a halt in the middle of the hallway, breaking into a cold sweat and covering her face with a palm. Her friends called out to her when they saw her bizarre movement.

"Azula, are you okay?" Ty Lee said, running to Azula's side. "Are you feeling sick?"

"N-no," Azula said, recovering. "I'm okay."

"Maybe you should walk with us," Aang said, concerned.

"No, I'm fine," Azula insisted, "it was nothing, really." She then smiled weakly, earning skeptical stares from her guests. She began leading them down the hall again, and after a few moments, they began their conversation again. Although she had brought her appearance back to normal, Azula felt a dread in the pit of her stomach like a lead weight. She silently scolded herself for being so careless, for forgetting her own plans in all the excitement.

Him, dinner, wine. It had all crashed down on her like a tidal wave.

She invited him to dine with her that night.

The dining room was the one room that Azula hadn't shown her guests on their tour. While it certainly wasn't tiny, it was a cozy room, with a perfectly round, mahogany table in its center. The warm light from the candles and the curtains hanging at the entrances made the burgundy-colored room seem as if it were insulated from the rest of the house, or even the rest of the world. Once Azula had shown everyone to their seats, she took her own, and attempted to start a conversation. "So, this whole time we've been talking about me," Azula began, managing to mask her nervousness. "What have you all been up to? Have you been holding out under your duties as Fire Lord, Zuzu?"

Zuko, peeved at both his nickname and the fact that he was forced to stay, gave a grumpy huff. "I'm doing a fine job," he replied. "Sometimes it gets a little _annoying_—" and with this he gave a glance to Mai— "but I manage."

Mai gave a disinterested sigh, but otherwise did not respond to Zuko's whining. Sensing she wasn't going to get much else out of the couple, Azula turned her attention to Aang. "And you?" she asked. "How have things been between you and Katara?"

Aang's face fell slightly, a blush visible in the gentle light. "Things are fine," he admitted, "but recently we got into an argument."

"Oh, Aang, that's terrible!" Ty Lee exclaimed. "The way you two act when you're together, I thought you never argued!"

"She's right," Azula mused. "The last time I saw you two, you were hanging all over each other like someone had tied you into a knot. Tell us what happened."

Aang's blush deepened, but he gave a sad sigh. "It's a long story. I don't want to ramble on about my problems."

"Oh, don't worry," Mai said, giving a crooked grin to Zuko. "We've got plenty of time, haven't we?"

"I don't know…" Aang said.

Azula leveled a glance at Aang. "If I didn't want to hear it, would I really have asked?" she reasoned.

Aang paused for a moment before giving up. "If you say so," he began tentatively.

Aang hadn't gone on for long before Azula's mind began to wander. As she cast a nervous glance to the curtains behind her, she was glad for once that he was late. As long as she could keep the discussion away from him, she was sure things would be okay. Azula was even beginning to feel confident…

Unexpectedly, a hand came and tapped Azula on the shoulder, surprising her from her nervous thoughts. "What?" she shouted, spinning around and knocking her plate to the carpet in the process. "What is it?"

"M-my apologies, Princess Azula," the servant stammered. "I only wanted to ask if you would prefer the miso or the udon as your soup…"

"Oh," Azula blurted awkwardly under the gazes of her guests. "Udon, please."

The servant gave a quick bow before hastily returning to the kitchens. Azula groaned as she bent to pick up her pate and hide her embarrassment. It was going to be a long night.

"Haha, I guess it was my fault… I should apologize to Katara," Aang said, thoroughly cheered up. "You're right, Azula. Thanks for the advice."

"I'm glad to help," Azula returned, taking a sip from her glass.

"Um, Azula?" Ty Lee asked nervously, pushing her fingers together. "Since you have such good relationship advice…"

Azula laughed a little louder than normal, causing Mai and Aang to exchange expectant glances. "Sure, what is it, Ty Lee?"

"Um…well you see," Ty Lee began, pressing her fingers together, "there's this guy who I've thought was cute for a really long time."

"Okay, and what's the problem? Knowing you, Ty Lee, you would have started talking to him a long time ago, if he wasn't already all over you."

"Well, every time I see him, he's with someone else."

Azula took another drink of wine. "Really?"

"Yeah," Ty Lee confirmed with a shy nod. "First he was with this weird redhead, and now he's with some short little tomboy."

"Why don't you just tell him how you feel? Try flirting with him a bit?"

At this, the unusually depressed Ty Lee gave a small shudder. "Oh no," she said, "If his girlfriend found out, that would be the end of me."

Azula began giggling. "What could she do to _you_, Ty Lee?"

Ty Lee simply shook her head. "I don't want to know," she stated simply.

Azula took another drink of her wine. While she was beginning to feel a bit tipsy, the dinner was nearly over, so everyone had already had a little to drink. Mai and Aang had been watching her behavior since the start of the dinner, however. Feeling confident, she decided to humor them. "Y'know," she said, swinging her arm around and pointing at Ty Lee, "If someone tried to move in on _my_ man, I'd probably kill 'em."

Mai and Aang suddenly lit up, and whispered excitedly to Zuko, causing Azula to smile. She knew that_ he _wouldn't show up any time soon, and when he did, a servant would alert her before anyone learned of it. Ty Lee, though, was oblivious to the entire game being played around her. "Really?" she squeaked uneasily.

"Oh yeah," Azula continued, pretending to take a large draft of wine. "I don't even let other girls look at him and get away with it."

"Oh my," Ty Lee said to herself quietly as Mai hijacked the conversation.

"Wow, Azula," she said craftily, refilling Azula's glass. "He must be really hot."

"Oh, you don't even know," Azula laughed, accepting the glass.

"Even hotter than old Grumpypants here?" Mai asked, pointing to Zuko, who had been silently fuming across the table until now.

"Hey, don't ask her that!" he yelled, forgetting he was supposed to be grumpy. "She's my sister!"

"Most definitely," Azula said, ignoring her brother.

"What?" Zuko shouted in disbelief. "You can't—"

"Don't get so angry, Aang," Azula slurred, "I've just never really had a thing for bald heads."

After a moment of silence, save for Azula's giggling, Mai leaned over and pulled Zuko and Aang closer. "Do you realize what she just did?" she whispered elatedly. "She mistook you for Aang, Zuko! She must be stone drunk!"

"Why did I even let you get her this drunk?" Zuko asked rhetorically. "What kind of brother am I?"

"Hehe, Aangry," Azula said to no one in particular.

"I think I might be on Zuko's side this time," Aang said. "Let's just ask her who the guy is, before she makes herself sick."

"Oh, you're no fun," Mai said frustrated, pushing the two away. But as she was about to ask who the mystery man was, a servant came up to Azula and told her something quietly. Surprisingly, Azula, stood up, straight as a rod.

"Excuse me," Azula said in a very clear, un-drunken voice before she strode out of the room, past the curtains.

The room fell into silence again for a few seconds before Zuko stood up, slamming the table with both hands. "Do you know what she just did?!" he snarled. "She was faking it! She had me worried for nothing!"

"Really? I couldn't tell," Mai said with unsmiling sarcasm. Turning her attention to a distracted-looking Ty Lee, Mai asked, "What's wrong with you?"

"Will Toph really kill me if I try to take Sokka from her?" Ty Lee cried out after a moment, a very worried look on her face.

Zuko slapped his palm to his forehead. "No, Ty Lee, Toph won't kill you," he growled.

"Oh, that's a relief," Ty Lee sighed, comforted. Aang, however, shuffled over to Zuko with a frightened look.

"You don't know Toph very—" he started to whisper, but Zuko cut him off.

"I know her well enough," he replied. Aang, not wanting to know what sadistic pleasure Zuko took in sending Ty Lee to her death, focused on Ty Lee and Mai's conversation.

"You want me to spy on her?" Ty Lee asked, head cocked to the side. "Why don't you do it?"

"Because I don't have my knives on me," Mai admitted, defeated. "If she catches you, at least you can do your chi-block moves."

Not wanting to put her friend in danger, Ty Lee nodded nervously. "Oh, fine," she pouted, "I'll do it. Be right back." She then ran to the curtain, peeked behind it cautiously, then slipped through.

"…Wait, I thought you always had your knives," Zuko realized after Ty Lee had already gone.

"I do," Mai said with a devious smile, sliding one of her stilettos into her hand.

Zuko and Aang were shocked, but eventually Zuko recovered, and laughing, wrapped his arms around Mai. "This is why I love you," he said, drawing her closer, "you can be such a bad girl sometimes."

Aang watched the couple kiss, confounded. He wondered why everyone else seemed to have it in for such a nice person. _It must be a Fire Nation thing_, he concluded.

Ty Lee slid carefully through the now shadowed hallway, following the distant sounds of conversation and laughter. As she glided down the deep red carpet, she began to pick up snatches of the talk.

_That sounds like Azula, _she thought, _but there's someone else with her… a man!_ And at this realization Ty Lee squealed, almost alerting a servant to her presence. Luckily, she had dove behind a corner, obscuring herself from his view.

Ty Lee exhaled a puff of air, glad that she hadn't been discovered. But then, with a start, she noticed that she was closer than ever to the voices. She began walking toward them again, and soon found herself in the entrance hall. Darting behind a nearby staircase, Ty Lee peered into the room and let out a barely audible gasp. There, she saw Azula in the arms of a strange man. His rough appearance and messy brown hair surprised Ty Lee. _Now that's strange, _Ty Lee thought, _I never thought Azula would go for someone as wild looking as that._ Unfortunately, from her vantage point, Ty Lee couldn't see the man's face. As she futilely craned her neck to get a better look, she listened to the lovers' exchange.

"…Come on, baby," the man said, bringing his arm across Azula's back. "Why can't we go have dinner? It's our anniversary."

"I already told you," Azula said, pushing him away playfully. "I had some unexpected guests…and they're still here."

"Why can't I meet them?" the man asked, sidling up to Azula again.

"It wouldn't be a very good idea," Azula returned.

"Well then… maybe you should kick them out, and let us have some fun."

"I can't do that either…this is the first time I've seen them in months."

The man took a step back. "Months?...uh, it's not who I think it is, is it?"

Azula sighed. "I'm afraid it is."

The man then dropped his playful air. "Maybe I'd better go then," he suggested, and turned for the door. Before he got far, however, Azula pulled him back.

"Oh, no you don't," she said with a sly grin, grabbing his neck. Before they started kissing, Ty Lee was able to get a glimpse of the mysterious man's face. He had dark eyes, thin, angular eyebrows, and…was incredibly _handsome._ Having seen enough, Ty Lee slipped back into the hallway, and ran quickly to the dining room.

"I wonder what's taking her so long," Mai wondered impatiently. "It doesn't take this long to spy on someone."

"Maybe Azula got her," Aang suggested.

Before Mai and Zuko could reply, Ty Lee burst through the curtains, squealing like a five year old. "Oh, oh, you'd never believe it!" Ty Lee squeaked, out of breath. "There's this _really_ hot guy with Azula, and they were making out and everything!"

"No way," Mai gasped.

"Totally," Ty Lee confirmed. "He even said it was their anniversary or something."

Zuko, relatively disinterested in the gossip until now, stood from the table abruptly. "What?" Zuko asked incredulously. "Did you just say anniversary?" He then slammed his fist to the table. "My sister got married without asking my permission!?"

"Jeez, protective much?" Mai asked, having been jostled by Zuko's outburst.

Aang managed to stay focused however. "Were you able to recognize who it was?" he interrogated.

"No," Ty Lee answered, "But he seems to know who we are—"

"Show me where this creep is," Zuko demanded, steaming mad.

"I think you should relax, Zuko," Aang tried.

"SHOW ME, Ty Lee," the Fire Lord insisted.

"Okay," she said, shrinking back,, not wanting to anger him any further. Following Ty Lee through the curtain, the group ran to confront Azula.

Azula felt her lover slowly break away from the kiss. She tried to pull him back in, but his strong neck refused to budge.

"I really should be going," he said in his rakish voice. "I don't want your guests to find us."

Almost on cue, Zuko barged into the room, hands alight, startling the couple from their embrace. "Alright," he shouted, "I want to know exactly what…what…" Zuko stopped when he saw exactly whom it was that Azula was kissing. "That's impossible," he breathed, his flaming arms extinguished.

The man looked up, surprised, but then smiled expectantly. "Hey Zuko," he greeted.

Right on Zuko's heels were Ty Lee and Mai. Mai looked at the wiry yet well-built man in front of her and gasped. "You weren't lying when you said he was hot," Mai said to her friend aside.

Bringing up the rear, Aang walked in briskly, bringing a small breeze in with him. "Don't kill him Zuko," he exclaimed, "I'm sure he…" Aang too was stunned into silence when he saw who was standing before them."

Normally Azula would have thought of something to say to explain the awkward circumstances. Normally, she would have been more careful. And yet, there she was, unable to do anything but blush furiously.

"I can't believe it!" Aang hollered, breaking the silence. "Jet! You're alive!"

"Heh," Jet laughed, leaning on a nearby banister, "Who said I was dead? I told you I'd be okay."

"Jet, you have a lot of explaining to do," Zuko said sternly, walking up to the couple.

"Whoa now," the Freedom Fighter said, standing and putting his hands up. "Let's just relax.."

"Wait," Mai and Ty Lee exclaimed, "You know this guy?"

"Too well," Aang and Zuko replied in unison.

Azula tried her best to speak, to justify Jet's presence. But all she could do was gasp with embarrassment and blush deeper. Just she felt she was about to explode, Azula felt a hand slip into hers. Azula turned to see Jet smiling at her in his confident way. "I've never seen you this embarrassed before," Jet said with a laugh. He tried to pull her closer, but Azula stayed frozen with humiliation.

"Hey," Zuko started, "hands off—"

"Oh, shut up," Mai interrupted.

"What's wrong?" Jet asked, frowning. He knew Azula could be odd at times, but…

After a pause, Azula quietly laughed, "I don't think I've ever blushed so hard in my life. It feels like…"

"Everything is catching—" Jet started.

"Yes," Azula finished, "everything is catching on fire."

"Everything is catching on fire," Ty Lee echoed dreamily as she watched the pair fall into an embrace. "Aww, that's so cute! You should totally kiss right now!"

Azula, about to do what Ty Lee had suggested, stopped short and shot an angry look at Ty Lee and raised an arm up. She growled, hand crackling with potential lightning. "I swear, if you don't get out of here…"

"See, we were right. She was going to set her house on fire."

"Don't be so melodramatic. Your clothes don't count as her house, Zuko."

"Well, at least we survived, right?"

"Don't even start, Ty Lee. You got us into this with your little comment."

"Did you hear that?"

"What, Aang? I don't hear anything."

"…there it goes again, it's getting closer. It sounds like… uh oh."

"What? It sounds like what?"

"Lightning."

* * *

_Originally, I was planning on making this more cute and fluffy-ish, but Azula was pretty OOC, so I changed it to what it is now._

_The next stories aren't gonna be anywhere near as long, this one is kinda special…:P So from now on, no more than 2,000 words._

_Anyway, I hoped this made you lol at least once. If it did, review. If it didn't, review. XD Don't worry about trying to write a fancy-sounding one or anything, I just wanna know if you liked it or not._

_Next up: Fingertips, Part 1. ^_^ I already have this one in my head…_


	2. Fingertips Part 1

_:P So I kinda died for a while there… but I'm back now, right? And that's all that matters (I hope)._

_This one is nowhere near as long as the last one, so hopefully there'll be no TL;DRing XD_

_Oh, and in case you haven't noticed, these aren't really songfics in the normal sense. It's more like, fics prompted from the songs. If you've heard Fingertips anyways, you'll know that you can't really make a real songfic out of em._

_So read on, and you'll review when you're done, right? o_O_

O_O_O_O_O_O

With frustrated growls, Toph squirmed futilely on the ground. "You…!" she grunted, straining to escape the biting ropes around her hands and feet. "Let me go!" It seemed the more energy she spent, the stronger the knots became. Toph tried her best to call forth her bending, but to no avail. From the second story of the house, she couldn't get enough momentum to move her arms, or the earth, very far.

"I'm really sorry about this, Toph," Ty Lee apologized as she tightened the rope. She scooped up the writhing earthbender and dropped her into a nearby chair. "I'll make it up to you somehow, I promise," she said as she tied the bundle that was Toph to the chair. "Please don't be mad at me."

"Too late!" Toph shot back heatedly. "I swear, when I get out of here…" She tried to escape once more, and once more she failed. _I never thought they made ropes this strong,_ she fumed to herself. It wasn't an uncomfortable chair; it was cushioned velvet after all. There were definitely worse places Ty Lee could have tied her up… but it was just the _principle_ of it, though. Nobody ties Toph Bei Fong to a chair and gets away with it. Especially if the chair's too tall for her feet to touch the wood floor, so she can't see. Toph gave a final shout before slumping back into the seat. It was useless to try and escape this way.

Taking Toph's silence as a sign of defeat, Ty Lee tilted her head in a cheery smile. "Don't worry," she reassured Toph, "I'll be back in a little while to let you out. Just relax for now." Ty Lee waved a happy goodbye before she opened the door to Toph's room and left as quietly as she came.

After she was sure Ty Lee was gone, the irritated Toph released a roar from her throat. _That girl doesn't make any sense!_ Toph thought angrily. _She hides in my room, paralyzes me with her finger-jabby moves, and ties me to a chair, but that's it! She didn't hurt me, and I didn't hear her take anything…_ Toph made a few more attempts to escape, rocking the chair and making all kinds of noise. She didn't loosen the ropes any, but she did manage to knock the chair over, making a loud thunk as she landed on the floorboards.

After a moment of embarrassed silence, Toph was able to think. "Come on! I'm the Blind Bandit! The Greatest Earthbender in the World!" Toph reasoned out loud. "There has to be some way out of here." Now that she had tipped the chair, her face was awkwardly planted onto the floor, allowing her to feel a few vibrations from the floor. She inhaled and exhaled deeply as she scanned her surroundings. " I just have to find it…" Toph grumbled.

* * *

Sokka walked confidently on the road through the forest. The sun shined brightly overhead, hitting the film of green leaves and throwing a green glow on the path. The warrior puffed his chest out, praising himself for the game he managed to hunt. "Two rabbits _and_ a wild turkey duck?" Sokka asked himself in mock amazement. "You the man!" He placed his catch on the ground for a second, propped his foot up on a nearby rock, and pointed skyward in an epic pose.

"Sokka, champion hunter of the Water Tribes!" he cried proudly. "What will he bag next? A platypus bear? The Unagi? Maybe even a lion-turt—"

"Hi Sokka!" a voice burst out happily, directly behind Sokka.

"Eeeyaah!" Sokka screamed like a girl, stumbling backwards and whipping out his boomerang. He turned to find a grinning Ty Lee only inches from his face. "Oh! I-it's you," he stuttered embarrassingly, taking a few steps back. He sheathed his boomerang and gave Ty Lee a reproachful look. "Don't do that!" he chided goofily, "I could have boomeranged you!"

"Sorry!" Ty Lee replied, still grinning. "You were gone so long, I wanted to know what you've been doing all this time."

"Oh, well," Sokka started awkwardly. He stopped himself and cleared his throat, puffing his chest out again. "I was hunting dinner," he said matter-of-factly.

"Really?" Ty Lee giggled, her smile never faltering. "You know, we're not camping out or anything. You could have asked Katara or Aang to go to the market or something."

"I could have," Sokka mused, picking up his game and continuing down the dirt road. "But where's the manliness in that? Even you could do that, no offense."

"None taken," Ty Lee said just as cheerily as before, following Sokka.

"Yeah," Sokka went on, daydreaming lightly and slowing his pace. "That's what I like about Toph. Not afraid to be manly."

Ty Lee's smile finally fell. _That's no good,_ Ty Lee thought as she caught up with Sokka. _I need to keep his attention off Toph and on me._ Having made her decision, Ty Lee slyly allowed her feet to collide. As she began to whirl towards the ground, Ty Lee closed her eyes and braced for impact with the solid ground. However, instead of hitting the ground, Ty Lee was surprised to find that something had wrapped itself around her back and stopped her spinning descent. She opened her eyes tentatively to find herself staring up at Sokka. He had caught her with one arm, as if it was nothing. "Oh, wow," Ty Lee gasped, blushing softly.

"Are you okay?" Sokka asked, pulling Ty Lee up as easily as he caught her. He meant to let go of her once she was back on her feet, but Ty Lee had other plans. She clung to his arm, practically riding it back to Sokka's side.

"I am now," Ty Lee sighed dreamily, batting her eyelashes. She began to walk, continuing to hold Sokka's arm.

Sokka raised an eyebrow. "Okay…" he replied, a bit confused. "Next time, try to be less clumsy. You could hurt yourself—AAGHKPTB!" A stone sticking out of the unpaved road tripped Sokka and sent him face-first into a puddle, much to Ty Lee's amusement.

"Hee hee, you were saying?" Ty Lee tittered, looking down at the waterlogged warrior.

"Never mind," Sokka grumbled as he lifted himself. It hadn't been but a minute, and the acrobat was already starting to get on his nerves.

* * *

Toph lay on the floor, trying hard to think of a way out of her bonds. She had gone through all the possibilities in her head, and yet she still couldn't imagine how she could escape her humiliating situation.

"Rrrgh," she growled under the weight of the chair. She wouldn't mind it as much if it weren't so damn boring with no one around. Nobody to talk to but the floor, and even then it wasn't earth, so she didn't really see the point.

"Why would that stupid bubblehead circus freak _do_ this?" she wondered aloud. Toph stopped thinking of ways to escape and began to think of reasons why Ty Lee would have done what she did. _She wasn't here to take anything, _Toph decided, _I know that._

_She wasn't trying to be mean or anything either_, Toph continued, '_cuz then she wouldn't have stuck around until I could move again. Besides, she could have blocked my bending with her jabbing._ Toph shuddered slightly at the thought of being totally blind. _At least I can see now, kind of. It's weird to see through your face._

Toph's pale green eyes held a puzzling look. _Now that I think about it, Ty Lee was wearing some pretty nice duds, _Toph realized._ They weren't heavy like that Kyoshi Warrior armor, or tight like that circus stuff. They felt kinda light, kinda like that fancy stuff Mom used to make me wear. _Toph's eyes narrowed as she continued. _And when she was leaving, I heard her head towards the forest… where Sokka is…_

Toph's eyes widened when she finally understood Ty Lee's plan. "Oh, that—!" Toph shouted. "She better not be doing what I think she's doing!" And with that, she began working twice as hard to escape.

* * *

Ty Lee gave a contented sigh as she walked down the main road with Sokka. Glancing around at the loud vendors and moving crowds, Ty Lee reflected on her afternoon so far. She had only been with him for about twenty minutes, and they had already had so many cute-couple moments together! He caught her while she was falling, they held hands on the way home, and she was even able to convince him to leave his hunt in the shed, so he wouldn't have to see Toph. And now, they were in town, going shopping together! Her plan was working way better than she expected.

"Uh… so you said you had a certain fruit stand you wanted to go to?" Sokka asked, a little nervous with Ty Lee clinging to him. Ty Lee nodded, rubbing her head against Sokka's shirt. Sokka stared at Ty Lee, totally lost. If his eyebrows went up any further, they would go into his warrior's wolftail. Normally, he would be glad to walk around in the hubbub, but he noticed that something was odd about Ty Lee. Was it her clothes? Or the way she'd been acting? Or maybe how she hadn't broken touch with him since the forest? He couldn't quite put his finger on it. "W-well," he continued, rubbing his rumbling stomach, "Wherever it is, let's get there fast. I'm starving.

"Oh, really?" Ty Lee said, perking up. "Well then, that's great! Let's go get something to eat! I know this restaurant not far from here…" And with that, she took off down the street, a hapless Sokka in tow.

* * *

Toph shook off what was left of the chair and ropes, and gave a satisfied smile as she heard them drop to the floor, breaking the silence. She slowly stood up, allowing her smirk to morph into her signature, I'm-up-to-no-good grin. That Ty Lee floozie thought that she could sneak Sokka away from the Greatest Earthbender in the World? She was about to get a _big_ reality check.

* * *

"So," Ty Lee said in a sultry tone, "did you enjoy dinner?" She still clung to Sokka's arm tightly, sauntering along dreamily.

"Um, yeah," Sokka replied uneasily. He made a not-so-subtle attempt to shake Ty Lee off. The sun was well into its descent behind the trees, and the crowds thinned as they made their way home. "To be honest though," he whispered, "It was kind of awkward running into Aang and Katara at the restaurant."

"We can hear you, you know," Katara frowned, hands on her hips. She gave the two an appraising glare, looking them up and down. "It wasn't exactly comfortable seeing you with Ty Lee either," she sniped.

A certain anger in his sister's tone forced Sokka to stop in his tracks and turn to face her. "What's that?" Sokka asked rather obliviously. "What was uncomfortable about it?"

Aang fiddled with his Air Monk medallion as he tried to think of a way to put it delicately. "Well," he started cautiously, "I think Katara and I were under the impression that you were still going out with Toph."

"Aren't I?" Sokka replied, missing the hint entirely. "I mean, I didn't think it was a secret or anything." He scratched the back of his head with his free hand, confused.

"You're right," Ty Lee said, entering the conversation. She stroked Sokka's arm, causing him to shiver involuntarily. "It _wasn't_ a secret," she reassured him, putting emphasis on the past tense.

Katara threw her hands up in exasperation, letting the sleeves of her dinner dress flare behind her. "Ugh, at least you _know_ you're being a pig, Sokka," she shouted.

Now she had her brother's full attention. "Hang on a second," Sokka said, squinting suspiciously. "What are you saying?"

"Oh, it's no big deal," Katara replied, "I just never thought you'd be so nonchalant about cheating on your girlfriend is all."

"What's this about cheating?" Sokka said, now fully incensed. "Look who's talking, Miss Let's-Spend-A-Weekend-With-Zuko-And-Not-Tell-Aang!" At this, Katara's face erupted into a deep red blush.

"You…wh-what… H-how did you know about that?" Katara stammered. She shot a nervous look at Aang, who conveniently had been too distracted by something to notice. Regaining her nerve, Katara smoothed her dress. "That was a diplomacy trip to discuss potential coups in the unstable atmosphere of the post-war Fire Nation," she recited neatly.

"Yeah, whatever," Sokka returned disbelievingly, "Just leave me and Toph out of it, okay?"

"Well, what about Ty Lee then?" Katara finally said bluntly. The only way she could get an answer out of his thick skull was if she was direct about it.

"What about Ty Lee?" Sokka asked. He looked at the girl clinging to him. She was staring up at him with large, shining eyes and a smile even happier than her usual one. He then slowly brought his eyes up to Katara's fiery ones, and then to Aang's nervous ones. He mulled over the scene and the conversation for a second before it hit him like a brick wall. "Oh, wait a minute," Sokka said, eyes widening. "You think…"

Before Sokka could explain the situation, Ty Lee had answered for him. "Yep, I'm his new girlfriend," Ty Lee replied with a giggle.

"What!? No!" Sokka cried, jumping violently and trying to shake Ty Lee off his arm even more frantically.

Ignoring Sokka's defense, Katara was positively fuming. "Oh, you…" she growled, fists clenched. "Have you no respect for women at all?"

Sokka looked around frantically for something to help him out of his pinch. "Are you trying to get me in trouble, Ty Lee?" he hissed, untangling himself from Ty Lee as if she were Appa's snot. "I'm still with Toph, you know!"

"Damn right he is," a voice snarled.

The hectic conversation screeched to a tense halt. The group turned to see the Blind Bandit walking down the road towards them, the various others nearby running for their lives. Her hair was disheveled, with locks of it out of their usual bun. Her clothes were rumpled, she had dirt on her face, and she had a vengeful glint in her cloudy eyes, accented by the ring of stones floating around her.

Somehow, Sokka wasn't entirely surprised to see her there. "Hey Toph!" he called out, relieved to find someone who could explain the misunderstanding. "Can you tell everyone here that I'm not—GUH!" His sentence was cut short by a rock to the stomach.

Ty Lee froze, gaping at Toph and silently panicking. "How did you…" she started, but wanting to maintain her innocence, changed her question. "Uh… how did you get so messy, Toph?"

Toph's stare burned a hole in the ground about a foot to the right of Ty Lee. "Don't even try it, Pom-Pom," she said menacingly. With a twist of her wrist, Toph submerged Ty Lee in the earth up to her knees.

"Aaah!" Ty Lee yelped, waving her arms to help her keep balance.

"What's going on?" Aang asked, worried.

"I'll tell you what's going on," Toph spat as she approached Ty Lee. "This bubblehead here tied me up so she could spend all day with Sokka!"

Katara gasped. "Ty Lee," she said, almost with pity. "Don't tell me…"

"N-no," Ty Lee covered, "Don't blame me if you're in a bad mood, Toph. I didn't do anything!"

"So you're saying you didn't do it?" Toph fired.

Before Ty Lee could respond, she found that a rock was hurtling towards her face. "Waaugh!" she wailed, shielding her face and squeezing her eyes shut tight. "Okay, okay, I'm sorry for tying you up!" When nothing hit her, save for a small breeze, Ty Lee cracked open an eyelid. She saw the rock suspended directly in front of her, and then gave a nervous yelp as it dropped onto the ground.

Aang and Katara gave the acrobat stern looks, but angriest by far was Toph. Her hazy, jade-colored eyes had somehow found their way to Ty Lee's terrified orbs, and stared as if they were piercing straight through the unlucky acrobat. "You wanted to know how I escaped?" Toph asked, approaching her would-be captor like a pygmy puma would a meadow vole. "I'll tell you how."

Toph came dangerously close to Ty Lee, and hovered over her for a second, leering down. Ty Lee gulped, feeling a bead of sweat trail down the side of her face. "Oh, this is the last time I listen to Zuko!" she burst out, beginning to cry.

Toph began to laugh in her face for a second before suddenly splaying her fingers out only a few inches from Ty Lee's face. "Fingertips!" Toph laughed as the Ty Lee flinched and fell awkwardly onto her back. "I used my fingertips to earthbend the ink stone off my table. From there it was easy to escape!"

"See!" Sokka interjected, doubled over. He was still recovering from the earlier blow from Toph. "You were saying that you would never use a calligraphy set," he huffed, straightening up, "but now it's… HURK!" Toph used the opportunity to sock Sokka in the guts again.

"I don't care if it's been useful," Toph snapped, whipping her head around to Sokka's general direction. "A calligraphy set is still a lame gift to give a blind girl!"

"F-Fingertips?" Ty Lee blubbered, pulling herself back up (or as far up as she could with her shins below ground). "How c-can you earthbend with your fingertips?"

"Fingertips are all you need if you're the world's greatest earthbender," Toph replied matter-of-factly, with her infamous smirk. To prove her point, she made a gesture with her fingers and encased the rest of Ty Lee's legs in stone. She then turned on her heel and began walking away from Ty Lee as if nothing had happened. "Come on guys," she laughed, "I've had my fun. Let's go."

The group glanced nervously back at Ty Lee before following Toph, for fear of having her explode again. Ty Lee was heartbroken and humiliated. "W-wait!" she called out to Sokka desperately, "You're not going to leave me here, are you? This is so embarrassing!"

Sokka gave an annoyed glance at her while clutching his stomach. "Don't…" he wheezed, "don't…whoof…mess with… huff…Toph… gasp… for both of our good." And with that he stumbled down the road after Toph, leaving the crestfallen Ty Lee in her awkward position, with a ring of people beginning to surround her.

* * *

"So Zuko put her up to it? Wait 'till I get my hands on his little emo neck…"

"You know, you may have gone a little overboard. Ty Lee looked pretty remorseful back there."

"Oh please, Aang. You have your way of settling your relationship problems, I have mine. I didn't even hit her, for spirits' sake."

"Oh, but you'll… cough… hit me, will you?"

"Shut up. You shouldn't have lead her on."

"Sorry Sokka, but I'm with Toph on that one. Besides, your gift giving skills kinda suck."

"Everyone's a criti—GUGH! …wheeze…Stop that!"

^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^

_I apologize to the Ty Lee fans out there if I make here seem like a total idiot. :P I'll, uh, make it up to you…?_

_Sorry, but I just can't take her very seriously. W/e. 9_9_

_There should be another chapter coming up soon… so just sit tight. And it __will__ be soon this time. ^_^_


	3. I Hear the Wind Blow

_This chapter is Flufftastic Kataangery. Zutarians might wanna skip ahead to the next chapter (which will be Zutara or have Zutara-y things). I should start on it soon..._

_Okay, you know what? I'm not making any more promises about doing things on time. Cuz I'm gonna break em. That, and if I don't promise it, I might actually write the next chapter._ XP

_Oh, and I noticed that I had no disclaimers on the other chapters. Do I really need em though? If I put one now, that should cover the last two, right? o_O_

Disclaimer: I, Kokomojeezus, do not own Avatar: the Last Airbender. I do own a boomerang though.

___

* * *

____Katara was still under a few soft layers of sleep when she heard the music._

At first, she didn't want to acknowledge it. "Nngh," she groaned, mistaking it for the early-morning noises of their camp. She rolled over onto her side and sank down into her sleeping bag. "What are you guys doing up so early?" she complained from under the fabric. Ignoring the sounds, she started to drift back off to sleep when her eyes quickly shot open. If everyone else was up, that meant she must have overslept! Katara catapulted herself into a sitting position, hair flying over her head and into her face.

"Ah!" she shouted, hopping awkwardly out of the sleeping bag while trying to get her hair out of her vision. "I'm so sorry you guys, I didn't mean to sleep for so long! If Sokka made breakfast, don't eat it, he probably--" As Katara finally removed the last strands from her sight, she noticed that it wasn't late at all, but rather early. The sun was far to the east; still busy painting the nearby clouds with the pinks and oranges of the dawn. Katara was puzzled, and still a little sleep-drunk. She was always the first one awake (someone had to make breakfast, Katara often reminded herself), and she could usually get away with sleeping until mid-morning. But she could have sworn she had heard...

"Could you please keep it down, Katara?" a voice asked angrily. Katara turned to see a half-asleep Sokka rolling over in his sleeping bag. "Go be frisky with Aang somewhere else," he sighed as he waved his hand dismissively.

"...What?!" Katara replied indignantly, fists clenched. She was about to make a sharp comment in return when she realized that he was snoring again. Katara huffed. _When is his mind __not__ in the gutter? _she wondered in disgust._ One these days, I'm_ _gonna freeze his mouth shut. _

The sounds had stopped for a moment after Katara woke up, but now they began again. This time, being fully awake, Katara began to realize what the sounds really were. What she had thought were feet trampling the ground was actually a drumbeat, and what she had thought was conversation was actually singing. As she listened carefully, she realized that the sounds were coming from somewhere nearby. Following her ears, she crossed the stream next to the campsite. After a little walking, Katara found herself at the foot of a large hill.

_The hill is… singing?_ Katara wondered. With her curiosity piqued, Katara cautiously headed towards it.

Katara walked up the hill slowly, still listening to its song. It was loud enough, but its airy sound and erractic stopping and starting forced Katara to strain her ears to hear the lyrics.

"Two lovers...one...nother...war...vides...people" the hill hummed happily.

As she neared the top of the hill, she had a strange feeling that she had heard the song before. She began scanning the grassy hillside, but found no one.

_I must be going crazy,_ Katara thought, lightly placing a hand on her forehead. Deciding to give the search another try, she began circling the hilltop. The hill was higher than she first thought, and since there weren't very many trees in this area, Katara could see the summer world all around her. Turning around, she noticed that she could see all back to the campsite. She could see two blue, sleeping bag shaped blobs (one of them was wiggling), a brown earth-tent blob, and a white, house-sized Appa blob (with a little Momo blob on top.)

However, Katara didn't see an orange airbender blob. _Aang's not there?_ she thought. _I must not have noticed him leave… _With that, Katara looked around the hill one last time, and finally, she found the source of the sound, facing the hill on the opposite side. It was Aang. He was sitting without his shirt, cross-legged and shut-eyed as if he was meditating. He was holding what seemed to be a pulsing sphere of air, slowly orbiting his hands around it.

Katara was instantly intrigued. Was the music coming from Aang? But how? He didn't look he was holding any instruments, and she sure didn't see any other singers. _Well,_ Katara thought instinctively, _I don't want to disturb his meditation. But_ _at the same time..._ The music seemed to be coming straight from him, and now that she was closer, the music was much clearer. After a moment, the waterbender finally gave in to her curiosity, and started down the hill toward Aang. Suddenly, she realized what the song was and felt silly for not knowing it sooner.

"Secret tunnel!" rang the music. "Secret tunnel! Through the mountain! Secret secret secret..."

"Secret tunnel," Katara finished softly, smiling as she took a seat on the grass across from the airbender.

Aang suddenly jumped up from his meditation, the music fading and the ball disappearing with a whoosh. "Augh! ...oh, hey Katara," he said, grinning once he realized who it was, "You surprised me."

Katara gave a small frown, slightly puzzled. "I did?" she asked. "I thought I was being pretty quiet."

Aang laughed a little. "Well, yeah, you were quiet. It's just that..." He paused for a second, trying to gather his thoughts but not doing a very good job. "Uh, I'll tell you later," he finally said, standing up.

"Okay...?" said Katara, still frowning. "Well, what was it that you were doing just now? That was pretty neat, I have to—"

"Nothing!" Aang quickly replied. He airbended the leaves off of his pants and put his shirt on in a sweeping motion. "Oh, gee, I suddenly feel tired!" Aang announced dramatically with an exaggerated slump. "What am I doing up so early? I'm going back to sleep." He hastily started up the hill, waving. "See you later Katar—"

"Wait a minute," interrupted Katara, grabbing Aang's arm as he passed and breaking his stride.

Nervously, Aang turned around with what he hoped was a disarming smile. "Uh...what is it?" he asked innocently.

Katara saw through the smile right away. "What are you trying to hide, Aang?" she asked, a skeptical look on her face.

Aang gently pulled himself free of Katara's grip. "Nothing, really!" he answered, palms open.

"You know," Katara said, a little annoyed now, "I'm not gonna fall for that. You were obviously doing something, so you might as well tell me now. I'm just curious, that's all!"

Aang held a guilty look on his face. He looked down at his feet for a few seconds before giving a big, airbender sigh. "Alright, fine, I'll tell you," he conceded. He flopped onto the grass next to Katara and lay on his back staring towards the rising sun. Katara followed suit, turning to face him as she found a spot a foot or so to his side.

"So," he started, "you know how Toph is trying to teach me to see using the vibrations in the earth, like she does? Well, the other day, I figured that I could probably use the same principle when it comes to airbending."

"You tried to feel the vibrations in the air?" she asked.

"Right," he confirmed. "At first it was kind of slow going. I could feel big things like gusts of wind, but it wasn't the same as feeling through the earth. But as I got better at it, I learned something really cool ...I taught myself how to 'see' sounds."

"Wait, a second," said Katara, lifting herself back into a sitting position. "How is that possible? I thought you were feeling the air."

"Yeah, I was, but that's what's so cool! It turns out that sounds are just vibrations in the air," he smiled, turning toward her and propping his head up on his hand. He wiggled his other arm to make his point, making her giggle a little.

_Well, he's not afraid of telling me this,_ she thought, _but I can't help but think that he's not telling me everything._ But, try as she might, Katara couldn't stay skeptical.

"What does my voice look like?" she wondered, looking at Aang's clear grey eyes. Now that the sun had risen, the teal light of early morning made them seem to glow, almost.

The Avatar didn't answer right away, instead he sat up and closed his eyes for a second. A second later, he came out of his concentration. "Beautiful. Kind of like a cloud," Aang decided, returning Katara's gaze.

Katara felt a light, floating feeling in her chest at these words, causing her to blush slightly. She felt his enthusiasm drift over her like a warm breeze, and the waterbender couldn't help but grin in anticipation of what he had to say next.

"It was great," continued Aang, "I thought I was an airbending master, but every day I learned more and more about airbending and sound, more than I could've imagined. I taught myself all kinds of things. I can feel sounds too quiet or too far away for people to hear normally if I concentrate. That's why I was surprised when you first got here. I was concentrating a bit too hard, so your voice was pretty loud to me. I can amplify any sound in my hearing range too."

"You can do all that with sound?" Suddenly, an idea came to Katara. "Any sound?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yep," said Aang with a nod. To prove it, he rose to his feet and took a stance. With a deep breath, he began airbending, moving his arms in slow, deliberate circles. _If I didn't know any better, I'd think he was waterbending,_ Katara thought, a little awed as little puffs of air gently rippled her hair.

Eventually, she could see what Aang was doing. His movements formed a rough sort of cone shape from the air, opening towards them, with air rushing out of it's center. If Katara tried hard enough, she could faintly hear two voices over the whooshing of the air. Aang continued his bending, and as his arms moved faster, the cone became more defined, the rushing air slowed, and Katara could hear the voices become clearer.

"...did everybody go?" Sokka's voice huffed.

"What do you mean 'everybody'? I'm right here," Toph grunted. The sound of her tent disappearing into the earth rumbled the hillside.

Katara gave a small gasp. "Spying on Toph and Sokka?" she asked, shaking her head.

Aang slowed down for a second to glance at her skeptically. "Don't tell me this wasn't what you wanted me to do," he returned knowingly.

"...Alright, you got me," Katara admitted with a playful grin.

Aang sighed. "I don't know what makes you think they'd be a very good couple," he said, "Toph would just throw rocks at Sokka all the time."

"I never said..."

Aang gave her another look.

"...Okay, fine. Just be quiet so I can hear."

Aang sped up his movements again, and Sokka and Toph's voices came back into focus.

"Are you sure they're not around?" asked Sokka.

There were some shuffling noises before Toph replied, "I can't feel them, but then again I'm not exactly looking too hard. When you have sight like mine, you can accidentally look in on people... uh... getting to know each other, if you know what I mean."

("Ugh," Katara muttered, "she's just as bad as Sokka!" Aang just blushed lightly.)

"Ah, I hear ya," Sokka answered. "...Why, has that happened to you?"

"What?" Toph asked, taken aback. "No!"

"...That's a lie."

"How would you know, Snoozles? The lie detector bit is my job, not yours."

"I just know. Besides, you're complaining too much for it to have been true."

"Hmph."

There was a pause. "...Was it me and Suki?"

A loud noise, like an explosion, came through. "No!" Toph fired.

"Whoa, that was definitely a lie. And you should watch where you're shooting those rocks."

"Shut up!" screamed Toph, abandoning her denial. "You don't know how gross it was to be able to see that. And what you were doing with Momo? That was some sick shit, Sokka."

Sokka coughed a few times out of surprise. "...You could see that too?"

"Yes, I could, you sicko. I don't know why I didn't tell Aang."

Awkward silence. "Maybe because of my dashing good looks?" Sokka ventured.

"Yeah, right," Toph replied a little too passionately.

"Why are you getting so worked up anyways?" Sokka asked. "...And why are you blushing?"

"Wh-what! I'm not blushing!"

"You clearly are."

"...Well, maybe its because its weird to be talking about you like this, okay?"

"Why would you think that? Is it... oh. Wait a second... you really do like me, don't you?"

"I totally don't! Y-you..."

There was silence for a second. "I'm sorry you had to see that," Sokka apologized. "I know how it is to see someone you love with someone else."

"I-I never said I was in_ l-love_ with you! You don't know anything!" Toph sputtered. "You're just a big--"

"Maybe this will make up for it," Sokka interrupted.

Katara was sitting bolt upright, straining her ears to hear what was going to happen next. After a moment of anxious silence, however, Katara noticed that Aang had stopped bending. "...What?" she asked, disappointed.

"That's enough," he said to Katara.

"Oh, put it back on Aang, this is the good part!" she complained. "Please?"

Aang ignored her. "We have to be respectful of their privacy," he stated firmly.

"Bleh," said Katara, a little put out, with her skepticism returning. "You still haven't told me what it was that you were doing with the music, Mr. Morality."

Aang began to look a little uneasy again. "Well, that's something else I taught myself. I learned how to bend my own sounds... and if I've heard a song before, I can bend it from memory."

Katara slowly understood what he was saying. "So that would explain why I heard Chong and Lily's song," she said, "but I still don't get it. Does it have to sound so choppy? And why are you so nervous to talk about it?"

Aang laughed a little. "It only sounded choppy and airy because I don't remember it all that well," he said, "I only remember the part after that... You know, when we were in the cave, and... uh..."

"Yeah," Katara finished for him. Their cheeks were equally red, and they avoided each other's eyes.

"...And the reason why I'm so nervous..." The monk scratched the back of his head embarrassedly. "Well, I heard your birthday was coming up soon... so... I..."

Katara gasped. "How'd you find out?" she asked, shocked.

Aang, having sat back down onto the grass next to Katara, turned away shamefully. "Uh, about a week ago... I was practicing my soundbending one afternoon, and I kinda overheard you talking to Sokka about it."

Katara was silent for a moment, and Aang took her silence as disapproval. "I-I mean", Aang tried to apologize, "I wasn't trying to be nosy or anything. I just accidentally heard it--"

"You were going to play me a song?" Katara asked, still astonished.

"Yeah, an Air Nomad ballad," Aang said. "I-if you don't want me to, that's fine! I don't know how the Water Tribes celebrate birthdays, but I..."

Aang was interrupted when Katara rolled over and surprised him with a big, smothering hug. "I, uh... huh?" Aang stammered.

"What was that you were saying about privacy?" Katara asked with a laugh.

"Heh, yeah, I guess I should follow my own advice," Aang laughed in return.

Katara was truly touched by his gesture. _I never thought I'd be getting a birthday gift from Aang, of all people, _she thought, _especially when I have to remind my own brother when it is. _However, Katara simply smiled, and said, "If you don't mind, I'd like to have my birthday gift early."

Aang's face lit up. "Alright!" he declared happily, jumping to his feet. He offered his hand to Katara, who gladly took it. After she stood up, however, she playfully pushed Aang onto his back, causing him to yelp in surprise.

"That's for spying on me," she giggled, pretending to be angry.

"Heh, I guess I deserved that," Aang admitted.

This time it was Aang who accepted Katara's hand. "I think you've learned your lesson," she said haughtily, "but if you really want to make it up to me, you better get started with the music."

"Okay, then." Aang bowed slightly, extending his arm towards a flat area a few yards away. "Right this way, Lady Katara," Aang drawled in a perfect butler imitation.

Lady Katara giggled again. Instead of letting Aang lead the way, though, she wrapped her arm around his. Aang looked to Katara with a surprised expression. "Uh..."

"Well, what are we waiting for?" she asked. Even though Aang was a little nervous about having to perform to Katara (and having her so close certainly didn't help), once he looked at her, Aang couldn't be nervous anymore. There was something about the smile that she gave him that reassured him. Something that said, "You don't need to worry about impressing me or meeting some high standards for me. I'll always be the same girl from the Southern Water Tribe; I'll appreciate anything you do for me."

Katara, though she didn't show it, was nervous as well. She was always so amazed by Aang's bending feats that sometimes she was a little intimidated by him. She was afraid she wouldn't know how to react properly to a gift from the master of all four elements. But from the happy, if a little bit anxious, look on the monk's face Katara didn't have to try to smile anymore. It came naturally. Aang's crooked smile and light blush told Katara, "I'm just as nervous around you as you are around me. Don't think that you're not good enough for the Avatar, because for you I'll always be the goofy kid from the iceburg. You're my friend no matter what."

And so they both smiled at each other. And even if they weren't ready to say it, something in the atmosphere, in the blowing of the wind said it for them: "I'm the one who loves you so."

"Nothing," Aang replied. "Let's go."

* * *

"Hey Sokka, I have a question."

"What is it, Toph?"

"...How _did_ you fit Momo in there?"

"Sorry, can't tell you. Trade secrets. But it involved a lot of stretching and... Let me just show you."

* * *

_You pervs. They're talking about a lemur sweater._

_I know, I know, you can't actually see air. This is Avatar, suspend that belief of yours._

_These cutsey-emotional-awww things really aren't my forte. Idk if I did a good job really. I'd appreciate if you told me, so... r__eview. All the cool kids are doing it._

___Next up: Hey Now, Everybody. One of my favorite parts of Fingertips ^_^  
_


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